NLEX Corp. said over the weekend it will implement “barrier up” procedure in RFID lanes and open cash lanes in all toll plazas during the transition to cashless transactions.
The toll company said following a dialogue with the Toll Regulatory Board to ensure faster traffic during expected traffic surges, a “barrier up” procedure will be implemented in the RFID lanes.
This means RFID subscribers need not stop during their passage in the RFID lanes where the lane barriers are kept raised, even as the scanners/readers continue to operate and record the toll transactions.
“We will be opening cash lanes in all toll plazas during this transition towards 100-percent cashless transactions. For the smaller plazas, where there are limited lanes, we will have an exclusive RFID lane beside a combined cash/RFID lane,” NLEX president Luigi Bautista said.
“Sticker installation and reloading of RFIDs will also be relocated to other locations in order not to compete with the limited road space. They will be moved to other strategic areas in and out of the expressway,” he said.
Bautista said, NLEX would always be ready to contribute to helping solve Metro Manila’s daily traffic bottlenecks and alleviating the traffic woes of motorists during the holidays.
Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian earlier suspended NLEX Corp.’s business permit after the toll operator failed to resolve the issues on RFID.
Because of the suspension, toll will not be collected at Karuhatan-Mindanao Ave., Karuhatan-Harbor Link, Karuhatan Harbor Link MacArthur Highway Exit, Mindanao Avenue Toll Plaza, Paso de Blas Toll Plaza and Lawang Bato Northbound entry toll booth.
The TRB said more than 90 percent of transactions in toll roads were through RFID sticker use as a result of the implementation of the cashless transaction since Dec. 1.
Based on the AutoSweep and Easytrip daily report, more than 3.7 million RFID stickers were installed as of Dec. 8, compared to 1.4 million when the program just started.
The TRB also noted that the number of motorists queuing daily for RFID installation was decreasing, from over 34,000 on Dec. 1 to less than 28,000 on Dec. 8.